{"nrhp_refnum":"89001952","name":"Masonic Temple","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1156 Hancock St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Quincy","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.253463037000074,"lon":-71.00453048799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-11-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Neoclassical masonic temple at 1156 Hancock Street in Quincy Center, Massachusetts, built in 1926 with limestone walls and designed by J. William Beal and Sons.","why_significant":"The temple is argued to be the finest Neoclassical building in Quincy and a good example of the 1920s redevelopment of Quincy Center after Hancock Street was widened. It was headquarters for several Masonic bodies, including the Rural Lodge, the city's oldest, and it retains integrity. It meets Criteria A and C at the local level.","narrative":"Masonic bodies in Quincy gathered at this limestone temple on Hancock Street, built in 1926 to designs by J. William Beal and Sons. The two-story square building sits high on an ashlar basement, with a flat roof hidden behind a shaped parapet. Four giant Ionic columns set in antis form a projecting pavilion, and the architrave carries Masonic symbols such as a compass, a keystone and a crusader-type cross. A broad flight of steps rises to the entrance, flanked by metal tripod tables on terra cotta plaques showing griffins. The temple was part of the 1920s rebuilding of Quincy Center, when masonry commercial and institutional buildings replaced frame stores, houses and taverns cleared after Hancock Street was widened. By the 1930s it housed the Quincy Commandery, a Royal Arch Chapter, the Taleb Grotto and the Manet, Rural and Theodore Roosevelt Lodges. Rural Lodge, the city's oldest Masonic group, had come from Randolph in 1803. The temple is described as the finest Neoclassical building in the city.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"J. William Beal and Sons","architectural_style":"Classical Revival (Neoclassical)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Recorded in good condition with no major alterations; still in present use as a Masonic Temple.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.145292-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/18/7925/63792518/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001952.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001952/0bf40ba6ac-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001952/0bf40ba6ac-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masonic_Temple_Quincy_MA_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jameslwoodward</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masonic_Temple_Quincy_MA_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792518","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masonic_Temple_(Quincy,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6783754"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/masonic-temple-89001952/"}